SERIOUS Flash photography

Well, actually it was just a few minutes screwing around with camera, tripod, flash, off-camera cable, a compact Lumiquest softbox, and my own ugly mug. I've never been much into flash photography and honestly (in my mis-guided thinking) kind of looked down on strobe work as a crutch. Well it isn't a crutch, and in fact can greatly enhance many photographic situations. I'm not sure what brought me around to this thinking, but I believe it has something to do with the resurgence of my artistic sense in photography. I've been reading up on small flash photography, spending time reading the Strobist blog, and reading Joe McNally's new book : The Hotshoe Diaries. The latter is an excellent read. Joe 's writing is funny and entertaining but most importantly extremely useful. It isn't an instruction manual per se, rather he tells stories of how he made the images in the book. But there is little doubt you will come out at the end a lot more capable of making great light.

I also spent a few hours on Friday evening shooting a National Championship Nordic ski race. Tricky, fast, work in bad, overcast light, but I got a few decent images, I think. Look for a few shots in the near future.

World Press Photographer's Awards

I finally got around to checking out this year's World Press Photographer's Awards. Many of these images are very difficult to view. The winners are usually very painful to see, humanity at its worst. This year is no different. I thought initially I'd put one of the winning images here, but frankly, the ones that are most powerful, would probably turn a few of you away from this blog forever. However, if you have the constitution for it, I encourage you to click HERE to visit the winner's gallery. It will take some time to browse them all.

The effects of the financial meltdown, wars in Georgia and Kenya, and the aftermath of the earthquake in China are top finishers. And I warn you some of them will bring tears, to your eyes, bile to your throat, or disgust to face. But the winners are also speckled with images of hope, beauty, and how remarkable the world is.

A good lesson from these images is that not all of them are taken in war zones, not all are taken in remote, distant or exotic lands. Many are the stories of normal people. People with stories to tell. People, like many that live in your community. The images are everywhere, it just takes some searching, and no small amount of bravery, to go find them.

Here are three galleries I recommend:

Post Election Violence in Kenya by Walter Astrada- (One of the most difficult to view, but extremely powerful)

Men's 10m Platform Divers at the Bejing Olympics by Julian Abram Wainwright- (Remarkable stop action black and white)

Snow Leopards by Steve Winter- (Incredible images of wild snow leopards and the Himalayas, great use of camera traps)

A couple of links

I wanted to direct you to a couple of excellent recent posts on two of my favorite photography blogs. David duChemin's Pixelated Image Blog is a daily read for me. I think he tackles photography from the right attitude and his regular blog posts are thoughtful and well written. Case in point are two posts from earlier today Check them out HERE and HERE.

Another blog I regularly visit is that of a great candid portrait photographer, Matt Brandon. He creates exceptional images from Southeast Asia and India. His recent multimedia gallery is well worth the three minutes it takes to watch. HERE.

Enjoy!